


Second Chances

by orphan_account



Category: Odyssey 5
Genre: Gen, Yuletide 2010
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-26
Updated: 2010-12-26
Packaged: 2017-10-14 03:31:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe they could do some good the second time around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dragonfly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragonfly/gifts).



> For Dragonfly. Short and unbeta'd in the madness but I couldn't resist! Hope you like it.

They’d come back to save the world and instead they were screwing up their lives.

In everything Neil had ever seen on TV about time travel, there would always be one character who would remind them of the grave consequences of their actions on future events. But the Seeker had sent them back to change the future, and in order to do that, everything was changing, and none of it for the better. Neil had managed to help Marc keep from dropping out of NASA but he had still packed his bags and stormed out. Mom was gone, Neil's breath hitched as the memory of her death resurfaced again, her loss had torn their family apart.

Neil kept his head down as he walked the streets of Houston, wondering what to next. Dad had run off as soon as Mom had died, bass-fishing because he couldn't face the world. In the space of a few days, Neil's family had collapsed around him and he'd been left alone in the house. He didn't know where to go. Sitting at home brought up memories that he couldn't deal with. Holly hadn't come to the funeral and Neil didn't know where they stood - if she rejected him now Neil wasn't sure how he would cope. Sarah had her family to think of, and Neil didn't want to intrude on the others. It wasn't the Taggart way to sit down and talk about your feelings, to show weakness.

Instead, he tried to deal by himself. He ended at a crossroads downtown and stopped at the lights. A middled-aged woman came to stand next to him, with a small child on a bike. The kid was maybe six or seven and had a yellow helmet on. He looked familiar but Neil it was a moment until he could place it. Suddenly he remembered.

 _ **2002**  
It had all happened so quickly - the child pushed off without looking, the car swerved but didn't have time to stop. Neil had watched in shock as the scene played out. There was a scream from the mother as she dropped to her knees by her son, tears streaming down her face as she begged for him to be okay as blood seeped between her fingers.  
_

By some stroke of luck he was here again, this time on the same side of the road. Neil watched as the kid raised his foot to the pedal, perhaps thinking that he could get across. A car was speeding towards them and Neil's hand shot out, grabbed the kid by the back of his t-shirt and pulled him back onto the curb.

There was an angry honk from the car as it drove past, slamming on the brakes to swerve, but the collision was avoided. At the sound the mother looked up and relief spread across her face as she realized what Neil had done. She pulled him into a hug. Neil stood their awkwardly, not good at touching from complete strangers but he gently patted her back as she thanked him, "You saved him. Thank you."

Belatedly realizing that Neil was uncomfortable, she let him go with a small apology. Grabbing the arm of the kid, who's name was Joe, she angrily dragged him away with a lecture on the dangers of traffic. Joe looked desperately unhappy, but at least this time he was alive to hear it.

The lights went green and Neil crossed the road with a slight spring in his step. It was pure luck that he'd been in the same place at the same time after how much they'd fucked around with the timeline but for the first time since they got back, he'd changed something for the better. He'd stopped one mother from feeling the pain that they'd felt. He'd given someone a second chance.

And that had to mean something, right?


End file.
